Mothers Rely on Limited Number of Recipes for the Family
With more mothers working outside the home than ever before in both the U.S. and the U.K., and less time than ever to shop, prepare and cook for their families, it's no wonder a recent survey claims that the "average" mother primarily relies on just nine different meals to feed her family.
Although
conducted in the U.K., the survey of 4,000 mothers may not have
produced results indicative only of that country. It may, in
fact, be a more global phenomenon. Mothers - or whoever produces family
meals, because sometimes fathers venture into the kitchen as at
least one blog post responding to the original survey pointed out
- may be guided by what their families want to eat as much as by
the time available for producing meals. They may also be guided
by grocers and the range on their shelves. After all, this particular
survey was sponsored by Merchant Gourmet, a producer of packaged
ingredients aimed at "making a difference" to dishes.
Apparently a combination of "hectic lifestyles, fussy children and partners who work long hours mean mothers are stuck in a rut when it comes to experimenting in the kitchen." In fact, Reuters reported that "nine in 10 mothers polled admitted cooking the same meals over and over again while one in four made the same meals on the same day of the week."
Having established all that, many said that they prepare at least two meals each evening to satisfy everyone, often preferring to feed children first and have a quiet adult meal later. There was also an element of economy in decision-making as many prefer not to waste money trying to feed their children new food only to have it wasted when rejected. Food enjoyment, taste and health were cited by approximately one quarter (each) when deciding what to cook. With such a range of reasons for menu planning, the "stuck in a rut" judgement may not, in fact, be the most appropriate conclusion to draw from the results after all.
Discussion Questions: Do you think American mothers have more or fewer than nine recipes that they repeat regularly? Is that much different than in the past? Should retailers be looking to drive more diversity or capitalize on family staples?